We used a rapid review method to find, assess, and organize mental health standards from international sources. Rapid reviews are a quicker way to gather knowledge than traditional systematic reviews, as they skip or simplify certain steps while still providing valuable evidence for decision-makers.
We chose this method because we needed fast results to support policymaking for national standards in Canadian primary care mental health services. This manuscript presents the findings from the first phase of our project.
Our rapid review discovered that articles discussing virtual mental health services and standards offered a diverse set of recommendations for practitioners. Below, we list the themes we found for each aspect of the quadruple aim:
THEMES
From the data extraction, common themes through Quadruple Aim 1 through Quadruple Aim 4.
Quadruple Aim 1
- Screening patients for appropriateness of virtual care
- Emergency contacts
- Transparent provider-patient communication
Quadruple Aim 2
- Accessibility
- Supporting health equity
Quadruple Aim 3
- Cost-effectiveness of virtual care
- Virtual care coverage
Quadruple Aim 4
- Increasing provider training for virtual care
- Setting professional boundaries
The paper we wrote about this, which has a lot more information, is here: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/2/e079244.info
Canadian Standards for Virtual Delivery of Mental Health Services in Primary Care 